Who are some popular Khmer musicians?

A:

Quick Answer

Prach, Bochan Huy and Ch'hom Nimol are popular Khmer musicians. Phnom Penh had a thriving music scene before the genocide of the 1970s. Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime killed many musicians during his reign in the 1970s, and many Khmer musicians still live in fear after fleeing Cambodia and changing their identities.

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Prach Ly is a Cambodian rap artist. He was one of the first Cambodian musicians to speak about the Khmer Rouge regime, and his music encourages Cambodians to heal from the genocide of the mid 1970s. His first album, "Dalama: The End'n Is Just the Beginn'n," was released in 2001, and he was the top selling hip-hop artist in Cambodia that year.

Bochan Huy began singing at age 9. Her father was an engineer but passionate about rock music, and he wanted her to become a pop star. She sang in her father's band as a teenager, but left music for several years before returning to the industry as a neo soul artist and performing her own music.

Ch'hom Nimol is the lead singer of the band Dengue Fever. Her voice has the high vibrato characteristic common among female Khmer singers, and she started her music career as a popular wedding singer. Dengue Fever's music combines Khmer music with 1970s style Ethopian R&B and California surfer music.